“In mid-January [of 2016], when winter was at its dreariest, [this girl-powered, dynamic duo and two of my personal favorite Renaissance women — Jamie Beck of Ann Street Studio and Kelly Framel of TheGlamourai.com —] gladly accepted an invitation to spend a few days traveling around Guatemala, getting to know its beautiful highlands and the indigenous Mayan women who have been weaving textiles there for centuries. It was an adventure of friendship, of epic natural beauty, and of heartfelt female empowerment.

They were hosted by Mercado Global, a fantastic nonprofit group that is empowering indigenous Mayan women to break the cycle of poverty by connecting them to international markets, fostering sustainable livelihoods for their families, and pioneering a socially responsible business model within the fashion industry.

These are but a few mementos of [their] quiet, happy, and richly-inspired moments spent encircling Guatemala’s volcano-rimmed Lake Atitlán.“

Aside from the gorgeous + impactful story surrounding their trip, their Super 8mm footage equally made me all too eager (and humbled) to edit. May their continued adventures, passions and purpose inspire other womyn to unite through their various talents and capabilities and to create more altrusitic meaning in this world. Get it girls.